About gradCapital
gradCapital, an accelerator and incubator program founded in 2020, is based in Bengaluru, India. With a presence in 3 countries, it has supported around 34 startups in sectors like Enterprise Applications, High Tech. As of Jun 2026, gradCapital has 1 unicorn under its belt and has witnessed 2 portfolio exits. Most notable companies in
its portfolio include Zepto, Stimuler and Airbound. The program is backed by a team of 11 people who primarily support Seed startups based in India. Its latest investment was a $2M Seed round in Pluto Mobility on Feb 19, 2026 along with Version One Ventures.
gradCapital's List of Top Investments
gradCapital has a portfolio of 34 companies, one of which is a Unicorn. Their most notable investments are in Riverline and Ripen.Their portfolio spans across India, United States and Singapore. They have invested in Enterprise Applications, High Tech, Consumer and 24 other sectors, across stages such as Seed stage. Here is the list of top investments by gradCapital:1. Zepto
Retailer of groceries fresh produce household items and personal care. This business provides a digital platform for the purchase of food products including fruits vegetables dairy items and pantry staples. The inventory includes cleaning supplies kitchen essentials beauty products and grooming items. Customers select items through an application for fulfillment and delivery. The operation manages a supply chain to distribute consumer goods directly to households.
Key facts about Zepto
- Founded Year: 2021
- Location: Bengaluru (India)
- Annual Revenue: ₹1,000+ Cr as on Mar 31, 2024
- Valuation: $*****
- Stage: Series H
- Total Funding till date: $2.3B
- Employee Count: 40,578 as on Mar 31, 2026
- Investors: DST Global, General Catalyst and 144 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Series H, Oct 16, 2025, $*****
- Highlight: Editors' Pick
2. Stimuler
Developer of an AI-powered platform for English language speaking practice. The platform provides users with opportunities to improve their speaking skills through impromptu speaking exercises. It also offers themed conversations and daily speaking tests with customized feedback. The platform aims to help users practice and improve their English speaking abilities.
Key facts about Stimuler
- Founded Year: 2022
- Location: Bengaluru (India)
- Annual Revenue: 0 - ₹10 Cr as on Mar 31, 2025
- Valuation: $*****
- Stage: Seed
- Total Funding till date: $4.78M
- Employee Count: 34 as on Apr 30, 2026
- Investors: Lightspeed Venture Partners, QED Innovation Labs and 14 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Seed, Apr 30, 2025, $*****
- Highlight: Editors' Pick
3. Airbound
Manufacturer of autonomous delivery drones for transporting small cargo items. These aircraft utilize blended wing body designs to achieve vertical takeoff and landing capabilities without requiring ground infrastructure. The systems incorporate onboard navigation technology to manage flight paths and environmental conditions during transit. The hardware is constructed from composite materials to maintain structural integrity while supporting payload requirements for automated logistics operations.
Key facts about Airbound
- Founded Year: 2020
- Location: Bengaluru (India)
- Valuation: $*****
- Stage: Seed
- Total Funding till date: $10.4M
- Employee Count: 74 as on Apr 30, 2026
- Investors: Lightspeed Venture Partners, IIMA Ventures and 9 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Seed, Oct 14, 2025, $*****
- Highlight: Editors' Pick
4. Pipeshift
Provider of open source LLM for enterprises. The platform offers tools for LoRA-based fine-tuning, supporting in creating specialized LLMs tailored to specific needs. It streamlines the process of fine-tuning and inferencing, and supports the development and deployment of AI applications.
Key facts about Pipeshift
- Founded Year: 2023
- Location: San Francisco (United States)
- Annual Revenue: 0 - ₹10 Cr as on Mar 31, 2024
- Valuation: $*****
- Stage: Seed
- Total Funding till date: $3.19M
- Employee Count: 17 as on Apr 30, 2026
- Investors: Astir Ventures, Y Combinator and 14 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Seed, Jan 23, 2025, $*****
5. Armatrix
Manufacturer of industrial and defense robotics platform. It specializes in designing and developing innovative robotic solutions for various industries.
Key facts about Armatrix
- Founded Year: 2023
- Location: Kanpur (India)
- Valuation: $*****
- Stage: Seed
- Total Funding till date: $2.19M
- Employee Count: 11 as on Apr 30, 2026
- Investors: Angel List, Emergent Ventures and 11 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Seed, Jun 11, 2025, $*****
gradCapital's Year-on-Year Investment Trends
gradCapital has invested in 34 companies over the last 5 years, with an average of 3 new investments annually in the last 5 years. In 2025, it made 5 investments, while as of Feb 2026, it has made 2 investments in this year. Its most recent first time investment was in Pluto Mobility and most recent follow-on round was in MEINE Electric.Year | No. of Investments | ||
|---|---|---|---|
1st Round | Follow-on | Total | |
2026 (YTD) | 1 | 1 | 2 |
2025 | 2 | 3 | 5 |
2024 | 6 | 1 | 7 |
2023 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
2022 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2021 | 6 | 0 | 6 |
gradCapital's Investments by Stage
gradCapital has made 17 investments in Seed stage with an average round size of $667K.gradCapital's Investments by Sector
gradCapital has a diverse portfolio, with companies operating in the High Tech, Consumer, EdTech, Sustainability Tech and Energy Tech. Notably, it has invested in 29 Tech companies, 19 Consumer (B2C) companies, 15 Enterprise (B2B) companies and at least 11 companies focusing on Software.Sector | No. of Investments |
|---|---|
High Tech | 6 |
Consumer | 4 |
EdTech | 4 |
Sustainability Tech | 4 |
Energy Tech | 3 |
Others | 19 |
Note: We have considered here, only first round of investments
gradCapital's Investments by Geography
gradCapital has made most investments in India (16), followed by United States where it has made 2 investments.Country | No. of Investments |
|---|---|
India | 16 |
United States | 2 |
Note: We have considered here, only first round of investments
gradCapital's recent investments
gradCapital has made 2 investments in 2026 so far - Pluto Mobility and MEINE Electric.Here are the most recent investments by gradCapital:
Filter this listDate | Company | Location | Round Details | Round Amount | Co-Investors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Feb 19, 2026 | India | Seed | 2577 | ||
Jan 22, 2026 | India | Seed | 5631 | [+3] | |
Nov 26, 2025 | India | Seed | 1409 | [+4] | |
Nov 25, 2025 | India | Seed | 4822 | [+1] | |
Jun 11, 2025 | India | Seed | 6707 | [+8] |
Unicorns in gradCapital's Portfolio
gradCapital has 1 unicorn in its portfolio - Zepto. The most recent unicorn in their portfolio is Zepto which became a unicorn in 2023, 2 years before gradCapital first invested in it.Here is a list of unicorns in gradCapital's portfolio:
Tracxn Score | Company | Short Description | Founded year | Sector | Location | Company Stage | First Investment/ Acquisition Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
78 | Retailer of groceries fresh produce household items and personal care | 2021 | Bengaluru | Series H | aaa{zym |
Acquired companies in gradCapital's Portfolio
2 companies from gradCapital's portfolio have been acquired. The most recent acquisition was Evy Energy Systems in Jun 2024 by Zemetric for $*****.Here are gradCapital's portfolio companies that got acquired most recently:
Company | Acquisition Date | First Invested on | First Round of Investment | Round Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Jun 19, 2024 | - | - | 4784 | |
Jun 01, 2024 | - | - | 1513 |
Team profile of gradCapital
gradCapital has a team of 11 members including 4 Partners and 1 Principal located in India and United States. gradCapital's team sits on the board of 1 company.Here is a list of top team members in gradCapital:
Name | Designation | Location | Board Memberships | Contact Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Partner | Bengaluru | |||
Partner | Bengaluru | - | ||
Partner | Bengaluru | - | ||
Partner | - | - | ||
Principal | San Francisco | - |
Co-investors of gradCapital
Over the past 5 years, 81 investors have co-invested in gradCapital's portfolio companies. This includes funds and angels.
- Invested before gradCapital: Y Combinator, Alagu Periyannan and 10 others have invested in rounds before gradCapital. There are 2 companies where Y Combinator has invested before gradCapital and 1 company where Alagu Periyannan has invested before gradCapital.
- Top Co-investors of gradCapital: 36 investors entered a company along with gradCapital. These include investors like Version One Ventures (2 companies).
- Invested after gradCapital: A total of 33 investors have invested in gradCapital's portfolio after their investments. Top Investors include Arhyama Farms (2 companies) and WTFund (2 companies).
Recent News related to gradCapital
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Armatrix raises $2.1 Mn led by pi VenturesStartupNews•Feb 25, 2026•Boundless Ventures, Armatrix, Inuka Capital, Boost VC and 3 others
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Deeptech startup Meine Electric secures $750K in pre-seed funding roundEntrackr•Jan 22, 2026•MEINE Electric, Rebalance, Antler, Venture Catalysts and 3 others
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Arctus Aerospace Secures $2.6 Million from Version One Ventures, OthersStartupNews•Nov 26, 2025•Arcaero, OpenAI, Version One Ventures, Coinbase and 3 others
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Stimuler Raises $3.75M in Pre-Series A FundingFinSMEs•Apr 30, 2025•Stimuler, Lightspeed, SWC, MVP and 4 others
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EDGE Group and Synergy Quantum partner to boost GCC military cybersecurity and quantum tech.Asian News International•Feb 07, 2025•Synergy Quantum, MP3.com, gradCapital
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AI Infrastructure Startup Pipeshift Raises $2.5 Mn in Seed Round Led by Y Combinator, SenseAI VenturesIndianWeb2•Jan 23, 2025•Pipeshift, Y Combinator, SenseAI, Arka Venture Labs and 5 others
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Airbound raises $1.7M to make drone delivery cost-effective with next-gen lightweight dronesTech Funding News•Nov 14, 2024•Airbound, Lightspeed Venture Partners, gradCapital, Lightspeed and 1 other
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B2C commerce startup Wheelocity raises $15 million from Lightspeed, othersIndiatimes•Nov 12, 2024•Wheelocity, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Alteria Capital, Anicut Capital and 2 others
